NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A white former North Charleston police officer has been indicted on a murder charge in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man who was running away from the officer.
The April 4 shooting was captured on video by a bystander and showed officer Michael Slager firing eight times at 50-year-old Walter Scott. The shooting rekindled the ongoing national debate about the treatment of black suspects at the hands of white officers.
Slager was charged almost immediately after the video surfaced. Prosecutor Scarlett Wilson announced the indictment Monday.
Wilson said earlier the death penalty does not seem to apply because there were no aggravating circumstances such as robbery or kidnapping as required under South Carolina law.
The 33-year-old Slager faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted.
According to The Times, a lawyer for Scott’s family said the coroner told him that Scott was hit with five bullets — three in the back, one in the butt, and one in an ear. At least one bullet also reportedly entered his heart.
A bystander shot video of the incident as it was ending.
